The 55 metre yacht support ship Fast & Furious from the Damen Shipyards was one of the stars at both the Monaco Yacht Show and then the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. It was at that show that an American buyer fell in love and subsequently sealed the deal
The sale highlights the Dutch shipbuilder’s long-standing leadership in the rapidly developing support vessel market. She was built on spec so that clients at the worlds most important shows could come on board and see the the shadow boat for themselves.
The client was represented by Thom Conboy and Chris Collins of Ocean Independence Americas, who previously also represented the buyer of the Damen vessel Ad-Vantage.
In total, 10 vessels from the 43 to 90-metre Yacht Support range have now been sold or are in build.
New client enquiries have been fast and furious since Fast & Furious made her debut in Monaco and Fort Lauderdale, says Mark Vermeulen, the shipyards Product Director.
“The sale further proves how shadow boats are becoming an established as a ‘smart stretch option’ for owners of all size superyachts,” Mr Vermeulen comments. “Owners want bigger tenders and a greater variety of toys, as well as helicopters, but they don’t necessarily want to stretch their yacht to carry it all. Compared to acquiring a larger mother yacht with more capability, the ‘existing mother yacht plus Yacht Support’ scenario offers more flexibility, lower total cost of ownership, and a lot more fun.”
Clients select the purpose-built Yacht Support vessel for its proven high performance, speed and reliability, as well as fast delivery in as little as a few months and value for money that no other solution can match.
Damen developed the yacht support ships in 2009 and based the design on the vessels they built for the offshore oil market and did so in collaboration with Amels its luxury yacht building division.
Damen currently building on spec a further a 69 metre YS 6911, available from Spring 2017, and a 55 metre YS 5009 , which is available from Autumn 2017.